Google Pay users in India are set to get new features tailored to improve their privacy, allowing them control over their transaction data and the option of getting targeted ads and offers.
Starting next week, Google Pay app settings will provide users with more controls to decide how the Google Pay activity is used to personalise features within the app, the company said.
Basically, users will be asked to choose whether they would like to turn the peronalisation control on or off as soon as they upgrade to the next version of the Google Pay app.
Turning on “Personalisation within Google Pay'' will provide a more tailored experience within Google Pay, the company said.
Even with this setting turned off, Google Pay will continue to work just as well - only without personalisation, the company added.
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The new features in Google Pay
Users can now view and delete individual transactions and activity records that they don't want used to personalise their Google Pay experience, by visiting account.google.com.
But it should be remembered that the transactions deselected cannot be erased from the server’s memory, as a government mandate requires transaction data to be stored by the service provider for at least 10 years.
Further, users who have turned on their personalisation feature on will receive more relevant offers and rewards based on their activity within Google Pay, including their transaction history. Most of these are expected to local ads of products and services based on users' Google Pay history.
"Your personal information is never sold to anyone and your transaction history is not shared with any other Google product for targeting ads," the company clarified.
How to personalise your Google Pay account?
Users who update Google Pay on Android and iOS can access these controls to modify their personalisation experience on Google Pay based on their preference.
These features already exist in Google Pay in a few other countries.
After the initial setup, the option to turn personalization on or off is present in the app under "Data & personalization" in the Settings menu.
